Over the past year, there have been growing questions about whether the long-promised "two-state solution" for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains viable, with West Bank settlements expanding, direct talks largely cut off, and the growing impression that neither side is willing to make the compromises that would be required to move the ball forward.

The most tangible positive result on this path was the creation of the Palestinian Authority (PA) after the 1993 Oslo Accords, a sort of proto-Palestinian government for an eventual state.